Dads can be ‘King for a Day’

A man’s home is his castle, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is king of his castle, especially if he’s married with children. Just as in Prince Philip’s case, the sovereign of many households is a queen.

But on Father’s Day dads deserve to be treated like royalty, too, which is why Silver Rain, the La Prairie Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, has come up with a way to make Dad feel kingly.

For the rest of this month, Silver Rain can make any man feel he’s King for a Day with a spa package deal of a 60-minute massage and a pedicure that’s a perfect Father’s Day gift.

Since ‘King for a Day’ is a bold statement, when I was asked if I’d like to experience the promotion, I felt compelled to take the assignment to ensure the advertising was accurate. Yeah, I know, it’s a tough job, but as they say, someone has to do it. And besides, my neck and back needed a good massage.

It was suggested that I arrive a half-hour early to enjoy the Silver Rain’s fantastic amenities that include a large bubbling hot tub, a steam bath and a sauna. I chose a 10-minute dip in the hot tub, where jets of bubbles immediately put me into ‘spa mode’, ready to relax.

Afterwards I was escorted to the Silver Haven – an all white room with comfy sofas, soft music and great coffee table books. I was given a menu of music to choose for my massage that included everything from easy-listening vocals to instrumental arrangements. There was an instrumental choice called ‘Leaving the workplace behind’ – or something like that – and that sounded perfect to me.

My massage therapist this day was Ferdane Celelija. She led me into one of the therapy rooms and after only a few minutes, she commented on the tightness in my neck and back. Tense muscles are a challenge for therapists because if their massaging pressure is too hard, the massage can be quite painful, and if it’s too soft, it can be ineffective.

Ferdane checked with me to make sure the pressure wasn’t too hard and then went about loosing up my tense neck and back muscles. After working on my back for 10 minutes or so, she put some elbow into it – literally. She pressed her elbow into the problem-spot areas, forcing my back muscles to relax. From there, Ferdane continued with the full-body massage, working my legs, feet, arms and head. By the time she reached my face, I was so relaxed I did as I sometimes do toward the end of a good massage – I started to drift asleep.

The hour passed too quickly and I really didn’t want to get up from the massage table, but there were other’s waiting to pamper me, and I didn’t want to keep my loyal subjects waiting.

Ferdane led me back to the Silver Haven, where I sat for a few minutes before my next therapist, Esther Gachihi, came to escort me to my pedicure. Esther suggested I take some of the snacks laid out in the Silver Haven, and said the cookies had just been delivered by The Ritz-Carlton’s pastry chef a few minutes before. She recommended the chocolate chip cookies, a recommendation that turned out to be tasty indeed.

She then led me to the pedicure room where a glass of champagne awaited next to the chair, my virtual throne.

After sitting, the first thing Esther did was put the remote in my hand. It might have only been the remote that moved the chair in several directions and controlled the bubble jets in the foot bath – but it was still nice to have a woman happily hand me the remote to anything. King indeed.

Pedicures might not seem like the most masculine thing for gift for Dad, but I will tell you one thing: Nothing quite makes you feel like a king like a good foot massage, and that’s part of Silver Rain’s pedicure process.

Esther said that some men are afraid of pedicures because they think it’s all about putting polish on toenails. In fact, she said pedicures are therapeutic and promote good nail health and appearance.

The process lasted the better part of an hour and involved all sorts of soaking, clipping, filing, buffing and, of course, massaging. In regal fashion, I didn’t really pay much attention and just let Esther do her thing while I sipped on my champagne, ate my cookies and read an issue of Men’s Health.

At the end, Esther looked at her work and simply announced, “Happy feet!”. And so they were.

She led me back to the Silver Haven where I enjoyed another glass of champagne before heading back to the men’s sanctuary for a 10-minute steam bath before showering, getting dressed and reluctantly heading back out to my non-royal reality.

In the end, I was there just short of four hours, enough time to say, yes, I felt like King for a Day. And although none of the staff literally bowed to me, they certainly did figuratively with exceptional service.

The King for a Day promotion runs through 30 June. It includes a 60-minute massage, a pedicure and a beverage choice of aged rum, champagne or a Caybrew beer for CI$200 plus 20 per cent gratuity. King for a Day gift cards are good for a year after the purchase date.

Esther Gachihi presents the pedicure chair, a virtual throne for the King for a Day promotion at Silver Rain Spa. – Photo: Alan Markoff